One minute, naiveté brings trouble and the impulse is to scream and holler at them. A moment later, their unencumbered spirit brings such joyful good, there is an overwhelming urge to lift them up with abundant pride and hug the smile out of them.

They’re mostly all the same, these kids, whether they live under their parents’ roof or play quarterback for the Broncos.

Jay Cutler is not immune to the hazards of youth, but he also has a pup resiliency that helped him come through when it mattered most in the Broncos’ heart-stopping, 15-14 victory against the Buffalo Bills in the season opener Sunday at Ralph Wilson Stadium.

“That was a blast!” Cutler said.

He was at his locker after he completed 23-of-39 passes for 304 yards, a touchdown, an interception, a mind-numbing backward lateral fumble and the first two-minute winning drive of his six-game career. And that’s how he summed it up: A blast!

The win was marred by a spine injury to Bills backup tight end Kevin Everett. On the second-half kickoff, Everett blasted Broncos returner Domenik Hixon, but it was Everett who was left motionless on the turf. Everett was strapped to a backboard and transported by ambulance to a hospital, where he underwent surgery for a cervical spine injury.

“We’re all very happy, but most of all our hearts and prayers go out to Kevin Everett,” Broncos safety John Lynch said.

In a frenetic final-minute drive that was exasperating and exhilarating, Cutler led the Broncos to a position where Jason Elam could sprint on the field, kick a 42-yard field goal as time expired, then brace for a wild, human pile-on celebration while a demoralized crowd of 71,132 watched in stunned silence.

“What’s with these kids nowadays?” said Broncos receiver Brandon Stokley, who began his ninth NFL season with three catches for 65 yards. “Nothing fazes these Generation X kids.”

Toro! Toro! When the Broncos call this out, all heck breaks loose. With no timeouts and 18 seconds remaining, Cutler completed an 11-yard pass to Javon Walker, his ninth reception of the day, and was getting ready to spike the ball at the Buffalo 24.

The clock was ticking inside 10 seconds.

Only there was a big problem. Somebody on the sideline yelled, “Toro! Toro!” which means the field-goal team needs to get out on the field. Spiking the ball would have been counterproductive with 22 white shirts on the field.

“We got caught up in the moment,” Cutler said. “I thought we were going to spike it and looked over and saw the field-goal unit coming on and said, ‘All right, we’ve got to go, fellas.”‘

Elam got the kick off with a split second to spare, then watched the ball split the uprights. The next scene was on-field pandemonium with tight end Nate Jackson, who blocked for the kick, leading the charge toward Elam.

“Whew! I wouldn’t want to play too many more of those this year,” Broncos running back Travis Henry said. “But I’ll tell you what, I’ll take that one.”

With only seven starting positions filled by the same players from their 2006 season opener, several newcomers had impressive Broncos debuts. Henry rushed for 139 yards on 23 carries against his former team and added another 44 yards on three receptions. Stokley and tight end Daniel Graham each had three catches, and defensive end Simeon Rice knocked down a screen pass and stayed home on a reverse to make an open-field tackle on speedy Bills receiver Roscoe Parrish.

New defensive coaching boss Jim Bates also devised a multipackage, multisubstituting scheme that had the Bills’ offense stumbling in confusion most of the day. Take away the final score and the Broncos dominated, compiling 470 yards in total offense to just 184 for the Bills.

Still, the Broncos were trailing 14-12 and had one last chance. But on second-and-13 from his 31 with less than two minutes remaining, Cutler seemed to lose his bearings and threw the ball behind him. Tailback Selvin Young scrambled to knock the backward toss out of bounds for a 10-yard loss. That made it third-and-23 at the Broncos 21.

Cutler had thrown an interception late in the first half to thwart what had been an impressive hurry-up drill to the Buffalo 22. Was the kid unraveling again?

Cutler rebounded by hitting Walker for a 21-yard completion, then rolled right and ran 7 yards for a first down. Drive alive.

“He’s got a lot of talent,” Graham said. “He’s going to be a special kid.”

Facing third-and-13 from the Denver 46 with 58 seconds left, Cutler hit Walker for 11 yards then on fourth-and-2 for 8 yards.

“I don’t think anybody expected Jay to come in and have a perfect game,” Broncos left tackle Matt Lepsis said. “I mean, nobody does. I think he definitely impressed a lot of guys on the team today. Especially me. I thought he handled himself really well.”

One more 11-yard pass from Cutler to Walker had the Broncos yelling, “Toro!” In came Elam, who for a moment was the game’s goat after missing a 43-yard field-goal attempt with 3:32 left. This time, Elam’s 42-yard kick was true.

More than winning their opener on the road for the first time in three years, the Broncos left here believing this was the type of victory that carried a greater good. Like that special moment when a kid matures into a man.

“When a young quarterback wins late like that, then the confidence starts rolling in,” said Henry, who played for Tennessee last season when rookie Vince Young had some late-season heroics. “I’ve seen a young quarterback win like that and then that next week, the sky’s the limit.”

THE GRADES | BY BILL WILLIAMSON

Offense

B: Sure, Jay Cutler made a couple mistakes, but he also made a ton of plays. That’s the deal with Cutler: He will go down trying. The game-winning drive wasn’t necessarily a thing of beauty, but Cutler and the Denver offense came through when it counted. The team needs to get more out of its scoring drives.

Defense

B: The Broncos’ defense overall was strong. The unit was beaten up in the preseason, but when the bell rang, new defensive boss Jim Bates had a strong game plan and the team executed fairly well. The unit was stingy on third downs, limiting Buffalo to 3-of-11 conversions, including a stop on a drive with less than three minutes to go that could have iced the game.

Special teams

B: OK, let’s start with the bad. The team allowed a 74-yard punt return for a score, and kicker Jason Elam missed two field goals. But the day — and the game — was saved by a beautifully executed field goal as time expired. It took the entire special teams to make it happen, led by snapper Mike Leach, holder Todd Sauerbrun and Elam. That play will be remembered for years.

Coaching

A: Offensively, Denver went after Buffalo at the right times. The play-calling down the stretch was strong and clutch. Defensively, coordinator Jim Bates showed that his system works when it counts, in the regular season.

Overall

A: The Broncos outplayed Buffalo the entire game but held themselves back with mistakes. The Broncos made huge third- and fourth-down plays when it mattered, and defensively, tightened when they had to. Any road victory is big.

Mike Klis was with The Denver Post from Jan. 1, 1998 before leaving in 2015 to join KUSA 9News. He covered the Rockies and Major League Baseball until the 2005 All-Star break, when he was asked to start covering the Broncos.